Larry Lucchino and I shared a cab together, going from the Baltimore Orioles hotel to the new Comiskey Park. It was 1991. Lucchino was the Orioles team president. I was a sports columnist for the late Baltimore (Evening) Sun. And all the way, Lucchino railed against the new Comiskey, describing its architecture as flawed, proclaiming how the new Orioles Park being built in downtown Baltimore would be so much different, so much better.
I thought, “Yeah, sure. »
I didn’t know Lucchino was right. Boy, was he right. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened the following year, set a new standard in stadium construction, offering an old-world atmosphere in a gleaming new structure. Years later, speaking of the park’s opening, Cal Ripken Jr. would refer to the former home of the Orioles, saying, “You immediately forgot about Memorial Stadium. Camden Yards already looked like hallowed ground and nothing had been played there.
Lucchino, who died Tuesday at age 78, was Camden’s driving force. And Petco Park in San Diego. And the renovations to Fenway Park in Boston. But his contributions to baseball extend far beyond his influence on the baseball field, which transformed the sport. He was a titanic figure, a man who brought in architectural consultant Janet Marie Smith, who mentored legendary general manager Theo Epstein, who oversaw three World Series titles as president of the Red Sox, and who coined the term “Evil Empire” for the New York Yankees. during his stay in Boston.
Shortly after Camden Yards opened, a raging debate ensued over who deserved credit for spearheading the project. Peter Richmond wrote a book, “Ballpark,” detailing everyone who could file a claim.
At one point, before Richmond’s book was published, Lucchino invited me into his office, showed me old drawings of Forbes Field in his hometown of Pittsburgh, and explained to me how it led to the Orioles vision for Camden. I remember he was happy that I was writing about it. But our conversations were not always pleasant. Those who knew Lucchino will remember him for his volcanic temperament as much as for the gentle touch he could display, as clearly demonstrated by his role as chairman of the Jimmy Fund, the official charity of the Red Sox which raises millions for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. .
In 1985, Lucchino was diagnosed with lymphoma. The disease was at an advanced stage. Lucchino underwent a bone marrow transplant which, at the time, was considered experimental. He spent 37 straight days in the hospital, according to Richmond’s book, unable to leave his room. But the transplant took place and he emerged alive. He later survived prostate and kidney cancer.
If anything, Lucchino’s recovery only sharpened his competitive edge, making him downright wild in practicing what his mentor, famed attorney Edward Bennett Williams, called “the competitive life.” Lucchino did not suffer fools. He could be condescending towards journalists, towards his colleagues, towards everyone who crossed his path. I remember hanging up on him one day, shouting, “You’re treating us like dogs!” He called me back a few seconds later, ready to continue pleading whatever his complaint was.
Bruce Hoffman, the former executive director of the Maryland Stadium Authority who oversaw the construction of Camden Yards, told Richmond: “I never knew Ed Williams, but I had the impression he could do it. turn it on and off. Larry can’t turn it off. He will be so angry that he will start shaking. You never know which Larry it will be. It was a yo-yo.
Lucchino’s polar extremes – his brilliant, creative mind and his intense, mercurial personality – were perhaps best embodied by his relationship with Epstein. The two first met when Epstein was a public relations assistant with the Orioles. Lucchino then took Epstein with him to San Diego and Boston.
It was Lucchino’s influence that led the Red Sox to hire Epstein at age 28 as the youngest general manager in baseball history. And, as noted at the time by the Boston Globeit was “issues of control and respect” between the two that led to Epstein’s temporary departure in November 2005.
Epstein’s infamous exit from Fenway in a gorilla suit came a year after the Red Sox ended the curse of the Bambino by winning their first World Series title since 1918. He returned to his job from months later, led the Red Sox to the 2007 Series title and remained with the team until October 2011, when he left for the Chicago Cubs and helped them end their own curse , winning the 2016 series.
Lucchino left the Red Sox at the end of the 2015 season and then focused on the team’s Triple-A affiliate, moving them from Pawtucket to Worcester to play – naturally – in a newly constructed park. From time to time I heard rumors that he wanted to be part of a new ownership group in Baltimore or Washington. But these efforts, while indeed substantial, were never successful. Since then, the Orioles have been sold and the Nationals have been taken off the market.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, have been stagnant in recent years, finishing last in three of the past four seasons, drawing criticism for the owners’ inability to spend as they did in the past. It is reasonable to ask whether Lucchino would have tolerated such discomfort? Or would he have pushed owner John Henry to keep the team at the highest level, committing to a “life of competition” to the end?
Team president Tom Werner promised the Red Sox would go “full throttle” last offseason, and ownership has done no such thing. Lucchino was always at full throttle and his legacy will live on for all who remember him. Thanks to the World Series memories he helped create with the Red Sox. Through magnificent stadium constructions and renovations, he contributed to the design in Baltimore, San Diego and Boston. With his transformative vision, he trumpeted it to a reporter during a taxi ride more than thirty years ago.
(Top photo of Larry Lucchino on Opening Day at Fenway Park in 2015: Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)